coming up for air

Posted on Posted in Uncategorized

well.
i guess the universe told ME. here i was complaining for weeks about too much to do and not enough time. need to spend more time knitting, need to work, need to sleep—yadda-yadda-yadda.

i don’t think i said anything about needing to come down with the PLAGUE.
(hence the funeral flowers that open the post)

and yet, that’s just what happened. a little unexpected gift. something to make time pass . . . and then . . . not pass. something to make all other commitments and deadlines disappear. all that seemed important a couple of days ago just gets de-prioritized like magic. i did NOT do any knitting (heck, i did not even sit up for 24 hours).

i have to interject here that i rarely get ill. it is so rare, in fact, that i never recognize it at first. the last time i had anything flu-like was 1999. i’ve had a cold maybe once in the last 15 years. and good thing, too cuz now i remember how much it stinks to be sick. ugh.

so here i am a couple of days later “feeling better” (better than the depths of hell) and trying to figure out where the heck i was. still feeling quite foggy and out of sorts doesn’t help my organizational skills at all. i know i am WAY behind on work, cuz i was already behind three days ago.

sometime in the hours just before i knew my body was about to become a volcano, i finished the bee shawl pattern, and sent the last bits off to vanessa and lilith, our dear wonder knitters. they are doing an incredible job with it. so far, only some typos have popped up, and not too many; no major pattern adjustments have been needed. maybe they will post pictures soon; they are both using a different colorway than i did—they chose to go with the darker honey-gold color. and lilith is using mini maiden for hers, so i am VERY curious . . . (nudge) can’t WAIT to see pix, you guys.

a few days ago i was out in the garden trying to get some good shots to show you and this one seems oddly prescient of how i feel right now

you might think, what the heck was she attempting to do?

here’s what i was trying to capture

they were everywhere in the canteloupe patch, just doing their thing—pollinating. and in the process of trying to snap pix of them, i came across this

david has constantly despaired of ever finding good fruit in ohio—it’s just not like when we lived in NYC, right next door to NJ; there are no little greengrocers on every block, hand-choosing the most delectable produce, and putting some aside in a brown bag, because they know you will be by on the way home from work and love them twice over for their thoughtfulness (i swear, this is true, at least in my old neighborhoods).

so, he set out to grow some of his own. i was a little leery of being able to grow nice melons, but there you have it. he was right. this morning, that same one looks like this

even the leaves and vines give me pause

i see trailing lace in everything out there, i think . . .

the garden seems to flourish no matter what is happening inside the house (we can thank our lovely bees for this). let me give you a quick tour (i can’t help it, i’m proud):

these are coming on strong and i am hopeful for a bumper crop. last year we had lots, but we almost ran out come spring—i had to start rationing what we had left in the freezer.

we also have lots of these coming in, which is good, since i enjoyed the dried mini tomatoes so much last year, and found great uses for them all winter, too.

i only planted three hills of squash, but i am getting a little afraid if what i am seeing out there

fortunately, we got this seed mix that produces several varieties from the same hill, so it’s not all one kind

i dunno what that one is, but i’ll eat it (and i’m sure within the hour, one of you will tell me). ok, i can’t help it—on more squash picture, because it is so cool

and don’t think that the peppers are slouching either

the hot pepper plants that my friend kris gave me are going to town too

the only thing that hasn’t got fruit yet are the eggplants, but they are naturally slower—and they ARE covered with gorgeous flowers.
even the elusive bright lights chard is giving a photo opp today

even after reseeding, this variety really isn’t giving the plentiful crop of the other types, but i’m in love with it. each plant has a different coloration—some purplish, some red-and-green, some yellow. someday, i will triumph over this one, and grow a lush crop (of course by then, we may be so sick of chard that it will not be appreciated, but i’ll try).

ok, now, it’s time i got to work—more tomorrow and there will be knitting, i promise.

68 thoughts on “coming up for air

  1. Glad to hear you are feeling better! I’m a little behind on my moth – but this weekend is ALL about it. I can’t wait for the bee pattern.

    Thank you Anne! For everything.

  2. Glad that you’re feeling better. Summer viruses are the worst. The patty pan looks almost ready to pick. They are best when small and they come in colors from dark green to light, to yellow to white. Just a light sautee with a little salt, pepper & garlic.

    As for fruit in Ohio, you need to take a few drives in the country. The sweet corn and the peaches are the best. Just wait a few weeks.

    I a jealous of the melons though. I just don’t seem to have a green thumb where they are concerned.

  3. Sorry to hear that you have been ill. Hope your back on deck now and feeling better. Your garden is oozing with abundance and beauty. Take care of yourself.

  4. I’m sorry to hear you’ve been ill. Don’t push yourself. We can wait for knitting.

    Perhaps those beautiful vegetables are part of the reason you don’t get sick often. 🙂

  5. Glad you are on the mend! Take it easy for a couple of days. Sometimes nature just tells us it’s time to take a break – NOW! Time to sip margaritas (or insert beverage of choice) on the patio and watch the veggies grow for a day or two.

  6. Glad you are feeling better! Your garden is amazing! If it’s any consolation I live in NJ and my Grandpa in Ohio used to always have the most amazing garden. Fresh peaches, berries, anything. So we used to always be jealous of the produce they had there. 🙂

  7. Now that’s what I call:

    a great gang of greens
    a pithy plethora of produce
    a veritable variety of veggies
    a mellow mish mosh of melons
    a terrific ton of tomatos
    a sudden summer of squash

    I’m running out of ideas here…

    Blessings (and gladness that you’re feeling better!)

  8. Oh man, I’m with you. I hate being sick and thankfully I don’t get sick very often though I have those pesky allergies that rear their ugly heads from time to time.
    Love the garden shots. All those yummy veggies that you will soon have….I’m jealous. 🙂

  9. Beautiful looking veggies. I am glad you feel better and hope you will forget the sickness completely in a few days.

  10. Hey cutie – hope you are feeling better! It’s no fun being sick!! Love all the vegies – I see others have already told you it’s a patty pan squash.

  11. so glad that you are beginning to feel better.
    your photos are amazing.
    How is it that we only have squash and tomato and pepper blossoms and yours have full on fruit? . weird weather. go figure.
    thanks for all the great photos.

  12. I know just how much it sucks being sick… as I’m currently down for the third day in a row (eeewww!). And most anoying is not being able to focus on anything (besides sleeping!) especially knitting.
    I do hope, that you are better and going back to your normal healthy sparkly self! Oh, and I really look forward to the promised show of knitting… it will brighten my day!

  13. Hope you are back to normal soon – seems like those of us who dont’ get sick very often get slammed when we do.

    The garden looks amazing! you are going to be making lots of zucchini recipes I have a feeling…..I need to get on the ball so I can do a really nice garden next year….

  14. I hope that you are feeling better soon. Lovely photos from the garden. Everything is blooming and growing so nicely.

  15. What fabulous vegie shots! Don’t you have B U G S in Ohio? It seems your garden is insect free, not so here in CT. Beautiful!

Comments are closed.